"Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all." – Aristotle

Links of Last Week

In case you’re more of a blog follower than a Facebook follower or Pinterest addict, I thought I would make a habit of sharing some of the things I have found and shared over the past week (or so).

From Simple Mom, a wonderful piece on establishing and maintaining Family Rituals. I especially appreciated the following:

“Kids love traditions and family rituals, because it fosters a sense of belonging and security. They also thrive on routine, so rituals only add to that need.

“Adults who work outside the home can really benefit from a simple family tradition to look forward to on the ride home. And adults who work inside the home can anticipate that ritual as something to mark the end of a work day. I know I do.”

The wonderful thing about family rituals and traditions is that they are of value to every member of the family for diverse reasons, but provide such a unifying experience. They don’t have to be anything elaborate. In a class that I took not long ago, we talked about our own experiences with family “traditions” and I was hard-pressed to think of a big tradition that has been faithfully maintained in my family. (Although I could craft a lengthy list of traditions we have given up over the years, as our family has spread out, grown up, and evolved.) I initially felt a little bad about this, but I came to understand that “traditions” don’t have to surround only holiday times. Having coffee and reading the newspaper together on Sunday mornings is a tradition or ritual that my husband and I look forward to every week and it does give me a feeling of well-being to maintain it. There are dozens of other examples that come to mind when I think about things I do with family and friends. What are your favorite rituals?

I came across an article from The Telegraph that advocated for “bright children” to start formal schooling later, rather than sooner, because of research indicating, “Many bright children can grow up in an ‘intellectually unbalanced way’, suffering lifelong negative health effects and even premature death, after being pushed into formal schooling too quickly.”

Meet the Robot That Will Teach Your Child to Program: “By connecting one of the pieces of the robot to another, kids can cause the robot to repeat its actions infinitely and act out a loop. Other parts illustrate concepts like functions and if/then statements. An app is also in the works so that kids can manipulate the robot using a tablet or computer.’We’re not just going to use a screen, there are already tons of apps that do that,’ said Anumolu. ‘We’re going to change the way kids are going to learn programming.'”

Your Feel-Good video of the week is this one, about an OB-GYN who welcomes every baby with a song! The way he speaks of the children he has helped to deliver is really lovely. The world definitely needs more of this.

Just in time for summer heat, Design Mom has a DIY piece on a Tricycle Car Wash, guaranteed for hours of fun for the entire neighborhood!

“Are you kidding? That I didn’t teach my kids how to entertain themselves properly. That I have terrible fashion sense, thanks to my polka-dot dress/kite. That I leave dangerous yard tools and birthday cakes with burning candles strewn around my house. That my son, you know, doesn’t have a name. And of course that I allowed my kids to catch other children with nets and lock them in a box.” – Sarah Schmelling